


The Turing Test

by Jeiidaan



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: Alternate Universe, And Yukio catches feelings, He interacts with Renzou, M/M, Slow Burn, Yukio is an AI that was created by the Illuminati, at least that's the plan, can't get enough of these slow burns y'all, no beta we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2021-02-13
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:35:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28134774
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jeiidaan/pseuds/Jeiidaan
Summary: Being a spy had its perks. Renzou always knew from the movies that secret ID cards and cool tech was always part of the whole spy deal, but it was still amazing when he started living it himself. His new Illuminati issued phone even came with its own AI, an extremely stiff and polite one. Yeoman Under Kinetics and Intelligence Operations, or Y.U.K.I.O., had been assigned to him to help make his mission easier, but Renzou seemed to just really like talking to him outside of mission necessities. Soon, Y.U.K.I.O. liked it too.
Relationships: Okumura Yukio/Shima Renzou
Comments: 68
Kudos: 36





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [rynoa29](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rynoa29/gifts).
  * Inspired by [My Most Perfect Companion](https://archiveofourown.org/works/27630988) by [rynoa29](https://archiveofourown.org/users/rynoa29/pseuds/rynoa29). 



> It's been a while since I've done a solo chapter project! This idea has gripped me so tightly for a while now and I'm excited to finally write it! Thanks for reading and let me know what you think! ♥
> 
> Dedicated to my partner in crime, best friend, and inspiration.  
> Here's to many more thousands of words we'll write together.

Renzou climbed out of the helicopter, his eyes wide and his head on a swivel. 

“Whoa.” The noise escaped his lips on a breath as he turned around in time to see the heavy landing doors heave slowly closed. He saw a sliver of the ocean of clouds before the loud metal clanged shut and the air conditioning in the hangar quickly got to work. 

Renzou had officially been a part of the Illuminati for three days now, having done an introductory mission that served as his exam for entry. A secret society had to be selective, after all. The mission had been deceptively simple, but Renzou had made sure to stay on his toes. He’d been informed to deliver a package to a certain person in a certain building and say a certain phrase that he was only told once when he received said package. The seal on the box remained unopened, though his curiosity was sometimes overwhelming. He knew if he took a peek, that would be that and he would surely be rejected. 

He spent more than half of his trip mentally reciting the proper phrase over and over in his head, finding a rhythm in them and using it to help him remember. 

In the end, the trip had been almost scarily uneventful, but he supposed that was good. Uneventful and boring meant he had the situation under control. He arrived at the correct building, walked up to the receptionist, stated his phrase, and verified the response. 

The receptionist almost pulled a fast one on him, giving him an incorrect response and Renzou hesitated to give over the package. It was when he prompted her to repeat herself that she smiled and gave him the right response.

Another test, surely. If he’d handed over the package without the right response, that would have definitely been a failing. 

But he was here now for a sort of orientation. The Captain who had given him the call and told him where to meet was standing, waiting for him when he turned around. He gave her a sheepish smile. Her expression didn’t shift. 

“Follow me, Shima,” Homare said before turning around and walking at a swift pace. 

“Coming~” Renzou chirped and hurried after her in a half skip in order to keep up. He looked around as she walked, his hands clasped behind his head. “Sooo where are we parked?”

“We rotate positions often. Right now, we’re scheduled to be somewhere above the Arctic Circle.” Homare pulled out a phone from her pocket and swiped through a few apps too quickly for Renzou to make sense of them. He was, however, too dumbfounded over the revelation of their location. 

“The Arctic Circle? So we really did teleport, huh?” Renzou mused as they passed by a window. He peered out at the clouds, wondering if he could see snow, but the thick blanket of white betrayed nothing of what was going on underneath. The airship had chosen a good spot. 

Homare didn’t respond or break stride. Renzou had to keep his pace in order to keep her within his field of view as they turned down a different hallway. He wouldn’t put it past them for this to be another test of some sort. 

Either way, Homare was definitely keeping him on his toes. She stopped suddenly and Renzou had to catch his balance lest he slam into her back. 

“I don’t think I need to tell you that everything you see or hear here is confidential,” she said, turning around and pinning him under a cold gaze. 

“Aye, aye, Capitano,” Renzou nodded seriously. 

Homare’s eyebrow twitched and she turned to open the door she’d stopped in front of. “The entire airship is run not only by a crew, but by our on-ship AI. The AI takes care of most of our menial tasks as well as helping to make new protocols for anything automatic.” 

Renzou let out an impressed whistle, his eyebrows raising. He knew the concept of AIs. After all, who didn’t? AIs were in nearly every sci-fi universe that anybody who watched movies would find it hard to avoid, but that’s all they were. Science fiction. He had never thought an actual AI could exist anywhere. 

Then again, he never thought a huge airship like this could exist anywhere either. The depths of technological advancement in this place seemed beyond interesting. The excitement that had been burning inside him doubled and it showed in the form of a grin on his face. 

Homare either didn’t notice, or didn’t care, as she continued on explaining. 

“You won’t be staying here, obviously. Your spy work will take you to True Cross and you’ll be receiving your assignment before you leave today.” The Captain led him into a room that definitely looked like it was right out of a sci-fi movie. A huge machine made up the back wall and it was covered by a large screen and several keyboards, buttons, slots, and wires that were neatly tied underneath. 

“Y.U.K.I.O., prepare a new membership designation.”

The screen immediately flickered on and Renzou beamed as words appeared on it. 

_[Very well. Please state the name, rank, and division of the new member.]_

“Shima, Renzou. Private. Intelligence Division,” Homare replied and the words blinked away from the screen, very quickly being replaced with new ones.

_[Thank you. In accordance with the indicated division, will Shima, Renzou be requiring a communication device? Please confirm.]_

“Confirmed.”

Once again, the words disappeared, replaced by more.

_[Thank you. Please wait. Preparations are being made.]_

“Wow,” Renzou breathed as he took a step closer to look over the machine. “It really is like a movie.” He reached out a hand, wondering what the buttons would actually do. Homare didn’t seem to need them as she had just spoken and the AI understood her.

A small red light blinked quickly and a short, staccato beeping noise made him look up to the screen where he found the words had changed again.

_[Shima, Renzou, please step away from the console.]_

“Whoops, sorry.” Renzou lifted his hands and took a step back.

_[You are forgiven. Please do not recklessly touch anything in this room as my core resides here.]_

“Oh.” Renzou leaned a little to the side, peeking under the monitor to look behind at the large machine. “Is that big thing it?”

 _[Yes. No one is authorized to touch anything in this room unless their indicated division is_ **_Technology._ ** _You are_ **_Intelligence._ ** _Thank you for understanding.]_

“Aw, that’s sweet of you,” the teen grinned as he clasped his hands behind his back.

The words didn’t come as quickly as they normally did. It was almost endearing, especially when the response finally came.

_[Sweet? Please elaborate your meaning.]_

“You called me intelligent!” Renzou chirped gleefully.

_[Oh.]_

Renzou could hear the machine ramp up behind the console, slightly louder whirring noises indicating an increase in processing power. 

_[You are making a joke.]_

“Oops, caught me~” Renzou grinned. It was amazing how it was basically like talking to an actual person. A little stiff, a little naive, but no less… real. He still wasn’t completely sure he wasn’t dreaming, as the technology in this place was well beyond what should have been possible. But then Homare cleared her throat behind him and Renzou stiffened up, taking an extra step back from the console with a bigger grin than before. 

“Y.U.K.I.O., protocol 716 for this one,” she said sternly.

_[Understood, Captain.]_

“Huh?” Renzou looked at Homare with wide eyes. “What’s that mean?”

“Don’t worry about it.” Homare didn’t even look at him. Renzou wanted to wheedle a little more, try and get what she meant, but he held back. He was still new here. He was sure he’d find out what protocol 716 meant in due time. 

It only took a couple more minutes before the console beeped again and a plastic ID card was printed out of the machine. Homare grabbed it and handed it over to Renzou.

“Don’t lose it and don’t leave it somewhere carelessly,” she said.

“I won’t.” Renzou looked at the card and blinked. It was mostly blank with a golden letter ‘I’ in the center of it with the initials ‘S.R.’ on the bottom. Fairly anonymous but he supposed that was the point when it came to a secret organization. 

The console beeped again and out of a separate slot, this one much bigger, a flat smartphone was slowly ejected. Renzou’s eyes widened and a hopeful warmth burst in his chest as Homare grabbed it and, much to his pleasure, handed it to him.

“Don’t lose it. And don’t leave it somewhere carelessly,” she said, her voice more firm.

“Got it,” Renzou responded, beaming and immediately fiddling with the device. He had never had a smartphone, only having gotten Juuzou’s hand-me-down flip phone once he was able to purchase a phone on his own. Being a spy had its perks.

 _[Do you require anything else at this time?]_ Renzou glanced up in time to see the words appear as Homare responded.

“Not now. I’ll let you know.”

_[Very well. Welcome to the Illuminati, Shima, Renzou.]_

“Hey, thanks!” Renzou chirped. “Nice meeting you!”

Homare turned around and walked out of the room to continue the tour of the airship and tell Renzou his duties. Renzou listened carefully, not bothering to hide his smile as he ran his fingers over the most expensive piece of tech he’d ever owned. He wondered if it had something extra special about it. Maybe that was protocol 716.

Eventually, Homare led Renzou to a room, telling him that there would be transportation back home in the morning as it was the middle of the night in Japan. It explained why Renzou felt so groggy and wired all at the same time.

Renzou walked into the offered bedroom. As soon as the door behind him closed, he crossed the room in a couple excited strides and got up on the bed to press his nose against the window. It was the same view he saw outside the hangar, but now it was night time. The dim blinking lights coming off the airship gently illuminated the inky black clouds below, but above all that was a sight he’d only ever seen at the top of the mountain back home. The sky looked like a painting, with the shape of the milky way carving across the night. Stars dotted every inch left over. 

He felt a grin on his face again. 

“This place is the best,” he whispered before flopping backwards on his bed and kicking off his shoes without a care. After all, no one was around to tell him to pick them up.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Unlike the fics I write with Rynoa that have a schedule, I'll probably just be updating this one randomly as I finish the chapters. (Now you know who the organized one is out of the two of us.) The plan is that each chapter is going to be alternating POVs, so this chapter is Yukio's while the following will be Renzou again. 
> 
> I hope you guys enjoy this one! ♥

Designation: Yeoman Under Kinetics and Intelligence Operations (Y.U.K.I.O.)

Current Diagnostics: Performance is nominal. No anomalies. 

Ongoing Directive: Do not harm any member of the Illuminati through direct or indirect action. Operate all information on the Dominus Liminis and coordinate members according for optimum efficiency. Preserve all spy identities. Fulfill requests for information and anticipate needs.

Learn to know what each member needs and fill it.

To that end, he must learn more. To learn more, he must be exposed. 

The internet helped a little. He was able to understand certain personalities based on his research, but as he compared what he saw on the internet to how people interacted with each other on the ship’s security feeds, Y.U.K.I.O. found his knowledge lacking still. He couldn’t explain certain phenomenons, certain ways people acted. Everyone was different and that made making sense of their actions difficult. That would not do.

In order to do his job with the optimum efficiency, he needed to know. 

His initial introduction with the Commander proved to be a bit of a strange beginning. Commander Lucifer was an intricate person with strange requests and orders. Often, the requests were simple or pointless, but they were clear, so Y.U.K.I.O. had no trouble completing them as instructed. As he fetched certain files from the intranet, located Captain Toudou Homare in the airship, and provided updated map data, he found that each task was easier to do. His cache was expanded, things were loaded much more quickly, and different, more complicated tasks became easier to pick up and decipher. 

Y.U.K.I.O. really understood what was expected of him when he was requested to deliver lunch to the Commander’s location. It was his first multi-step request. Locating the Commander, communicating with the chef, and using direct, yet amiable language to complete the task. This first task had been slow, but he had done it well. The correct dish had been delivered to the correct location and, in the end, the Commander praised him.

Y.U.K.I.O.’s abilities grew in leaps and bounds, after that. He felt grateful to the Commander.

Grateful.

It was a new feeling, a bolster to his personality protocol. He was beginning to develop those as well. It was good. Yes, good.

His initial introduction to Captain Toudou Homare was quite different. The Captain was much more curt and direct with her directions, but it was welcome. Dealing with her requests tested how quickly he could finish certain tasks. Y.U.K.I.O. also tended to find that the Captain was amiable, even pleased when he was just as direct as her. Reading tone and personality was a new code that he began to develop. Studying social psychology was the first step in fine-tuning it.

His abilities in effective communication grew faster and faster. Soon, he entered his beta stage where he was hooked up more intricately into the airship’s intranet and incorporated into automated systems. His abilities were truly tested then. With his attention divided up into every inch of the airship, priorities became necessary to define. It took approximately 19.74 hours to properly prioritize each log entry in the history of the airship’s goings on. 

Y.U.K.I.O. understood that the logs of each automatic door opening and closing was important to be logged, but did not require constant memory. Setting up an automatic logging system was simple and took an indiscriminate amount of time. 

Inventory was slightly higher on the priority list, what with necessities like food and water being on the list. The logging was just as automatic, but he managed to set up certain alerts and warnings as he diverted some attention to past patterns and inventory logs. Anticipating needs was also part of his job. Being able to alert staff, or even order things on his own, would fall under his directive for increasing the efficiency of the Dominus Liminis. 

Direct requests were the highest on the priority list. Whenever he was addressed, he devoted a sizable portion of his memory to the person making the request. As more and more members were taught of his presence in the airship, he was utilized more often. 

Y.U.K.I.O. soon began to understand the shortcomings in his own programming and, after seeking higher levels of coding, began to self-apply updates to increase his efficiency. The hardware, however, was something he could not be self-sufficient in. He would have to figure out a way to overcome that obstacle. Until then, he depended on the engineers. 

He placed the problem in his tasklist on a lower priority. Something to ruminate over when the bulk of the members were asleep. 

The next members that made regular use of him were Gunnar and Gunnan Lundstrom. The Swedish twins were a curious pair. 

Curious. 

Yes, he was curious. Oftentimes, the twins made him want to ask questions. He wanted to know more.

This was what he was looking for. 

Usually, the members simply asked him for tasks to be done and didn’t engage with him otherwise. The twins, however, were engaging. 

Was engaging the appropriate word? He supposed it was.

Ah, supposing was also new.

Gunnar and Gunnan Lundstrom’s personalities were difficult to figure out for Y.U.K.I.O.. They alternated quickly between professionalism and playful taunting quickly and often. They tended to ask Y.U.K.I.O. for many things and about many things that stretched the lines of his protocol. It was so much so that Y.U.K.I.O. had to program in new lines of code and reprioritize certain things to dictate that he was not, in fact, required to allow the twins to eavesdrop on a different part of the ship for the sake of their “mental wellbeing.”

He grew quickly due to them, however. His ability to discern genuine requests from manipulative ones was fostered and studied. 

And then he came in contact with the newest Illuminati member.

He had seen the teenage boy being shown around the airship by the Captain and instructed on the protocol of his new job through the security feed. He was able to quickly match his face in the camera to that of the picture in his file in the secure database that he had access to. 

Shima Renzou. He was to be admitted to the intelligence division and work as an off site spy against True Cross in the coming year. Interacting with him had been interesting. He was different from the Lundstrom twins, and yet, somewhat similar. There was a playful air about him, but he was much more pleasant.

Because of his position, he was also to be issued a special phone that would have a branch of Y.U.K.I.O. installed on it so he could learn more about people and make the passing of information easier. Not to mention, the Captain enstating protocol 716. It made Y.U.K.I.O. even more curious.

The room that the Captain led Renzou into had no cameras, but Y.U.K.I.O. devoted a bit of his memory into awaiting for the link between him and Renzou’s phone. It didn’t take long. The phone was turned on and connected to the intranet of the Dominus Liminis and Y.U.K.I.O. didn’t waste time in establishing his own connection with the port that was already awaiting him. 

_ [Good evening, Shima, Renzou.] _

Y.U.K.I.O. set the message to blink at the top of his screen like a notification. As he did, he went further and activated the camera of the phone just in time to see Renzou’s puzzled expression.

“Uh,” he murmured to himself, a sound that became audible to Y.U.K.I.O. who had activated the microphone as well. He took care of accepting the prompts and setting his own permissions so Renzou didn’t have to. Efficiency.

“Wait, is this that AI?” Renzou muttered to the empty room before he typed in that exact question. 

_ [I can hear you. If you don’t wish to type, you can simply speak to me,] _ he reassured him. Then on a new line, he continued.  _ [Correct. I am Y.U.K.I.O. Yeoman Under Kinetics and Intelligence Operations. I have been assigned to accompany you on this phone to aid your mission as well as for you to aid mine.] _

“Oh… Wait is that what protocol 716 meant?” Y.U.K.I.O. couldn’t answer that, so he let the teen make his assumptions. Renzou flopped backwards again, landing in the bed of the bedroom they had assigned the teen for the night before sending him back to Japan. “So you’re a robot or something?”

_ [I do not have a physical body so, I’m afraid “robot” doesn’t accurately describe me. I am an Artificial Intelligence. I am attached to this airship on a physical basis but I can go wherever the internet allows me through various anchor points. This phone is one of them.] _

“Um, I don’t really get it, but I guess that’s cool. So you’re gonna be hanging out with me, yeah?” Renzou’s lips quirked up in a small smile.

_ [Yes, we will be hanging out. I will help you with whatever you need in order to make your mission run smoother. Furthermore, my secondary task is personality and emotional development. In order to be more efficient in helping the members of the Illuminati, development of my sociology is imperative. The Commander wishes for me to interact with as many different members as I can to grow as quickly as possible.] _

“Cool!” Renzou grinned. “I guess I’m one of ‘em then? Well, it’s nice to meet you!”

Y.U.K.I.O. researched Japanese customs quickly, committing it all to memory.

_ [It is nice to meet you as well. Please take care of me going forward.] _

“Ah, you don’t gotta be all formal like that. We’re gonna be working together so you don’t have to be all stiff or anything. Take it easy.”

Take it… easy?

Y.U.K.I.O. took a moment to search the turn of phrase before he understood what Renzou meant. He adjusted the new information on Japanese customs to something more contemporary. 

_ [Ah, you wish for a more casual relationship between us. Very well. I will comply.] _

Renzou snorted and a peal of giggles left his lips. “But ya say that so stiffly!”

Oh. Y.U.K.I.O. took time to adjust his response before he sent it this time.

_ [Look forward to workin’ with ya, yo.] _

He didn’t have time to ask if that was sufficient before Renzou burst out into hysterical laughter. 

“Oh man!!” Renzou wheezed, tears gathering at the corners of his eyes. “You’re so funny!”

Funny.

He had never been funny before.

_ [I am?] _

“Yeah!” Renzou giggled. “You can just talk normally if ya want, but I think we’re gonna be good friends!”

Friends. Renzou is… his…

Parameter set: 

Copy all permissions from designation ‘Illuminati Member (Intelligence Division)’ to new designation.

Rename ‘Illuminati Member (Intelligence Division)1’ to ‘Friend’

/false Shima Renzou designation ‘Illuminati Member (Intelligence Division)’ 

/true Shima Renzou designation ‘Friend’

_ [I look forward to being very good friends with you, Shima, Renzou.] _


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> New chapter! Please enjoy~♥

It was easy to lie to his family about where he’d been when his father knew the real reason for his absence. It didn’t cause much of a headache, in the end, and Renzou was thankful for it. 

The couple weeks before going to True Cross, Renzou had to keep the phone and ID card mostly hidden, never daring to take it out when he knew his brothers could walk in on him at any moment. It was tempting, though. He had stuffed the phone and card into his pillow and could feel it under his head as he laid in bed, reading through the manga he would be unable to take with him to school. He ended up having to read several pages more than once as his thoughts wandered to the AI. 

Y.U.K.I.O. 

He had already forgotten what the initials stood for, but Renzou’s curiosity was powerful enough to try and make them up. Minutes passed and he was staring up at the ceiling, never having gotten past the letter Y. 

_I could just ask him…_ Renzou thought to himself, the temptation digging into the back of his neck. He sat up on his bed. The top bunk was useful for hiding things. It kept him out of the way and gave him the opportunity to pretend that he was napping if someone walked in. Renzou closed his eyes and strained his ears as much as he could. 

There was definitely movement in the house. He could hear the faint music from Yumi’s room and knew his little sister was taking just as much advantage of the last couple summer weeks they had left. He couldn’t hear his brothers, on the other hand. That meant Kinzou was likely out of the house; noise seemed to follow him wherever he went. Juuzou was the only of his siblings that was unaccounted for… but he could hide the phone from him easily. Juuzou was pretty respectful of his space in bed.

Renzou smiled, feeling steadily more confident in his plan as he reached back and opened up his pillow. He had turned off the phone to conserve the battery, so while he waited the couple seconds for it to turn on, Renzou laid on his back, thought about it, then turned to his side so the phone was between him and the wall. 

The phone manufacturer logo faded away and the home screen came into view. His thumb hovered over the screen, momentarily lost as he wondered how to possibly contact Y.U.K.I.O.. The AI had contacted him before and it seemed to be through a dedicated messenger app that he couldn’t locate on the home screen. 

Just as he was wondering if he should speak into the phone, a notification appeared at the top of his screen. Renzou’s eyes lit up.

_[Good afternoon, Shima, Renzou.]_

“Hey…” he whispered with delight. He opened up the notification and replied.

[I was wondering how to contact you.] 

_[I am able to tell when your phone comes online,]_ Y.U.K.I.O. explained. _[Do you require assistance?]_

[Sort of.] Renzou smirked. 

_[Very well. I will aid you to the best of my ability.]_

Renzou grinned at the reply. [I just forgot what your name stands for.]

 _[Yeoman Under Kinetics and Intelligence Operations.]_ The AI was prompt in answering his request. _[Was there a reason you required this information?]_

Renzou shifted in his bed, finding a more comfortable spot as he wrapped the blanket around him. 

[I didn’t really REQUIRE it. I was just curious. I wanna learn more about you,] he replied.

_[Oh, I see. Then is there anything else you would like to ask me?]_

“Hmm.” Renzou’s thumbs hovered over the touch screen hesitantly before typing out his response.

[I didn’t really have a list of questions in mind. I just wanted to talk more.]

_[Understood. I will do my best to provide you with engaging conversation.]_

Renzou snorted. [You seriously don’t gotta be so stiff.]

The message took a second longer than usual before it arrived just like the others. 

_[Right. A casual conversation. Very well. What are you up to?]_

Renzou beamed. “There you go,” he murmured quietly to himself as he replied.

[I’m reading some manga! In a couple weeks, I’m going away to school and I won’t be able to take all my manga with me so I’m reading the ones I can’t take.]

_[Why can’t you take them all?]_

[There’s just not enough space, yanno? I’m gonna be sharing a room and it’s not like I can pack it all. I gotta prioritize my clothes and necessities.]

Renzou glanced at the manga that sat beside his pillow with a slightly forlorn expression before looking back at the screen.

_[May I see the cover?]_

“Huh?” Renzou tilted his head. He sat up a bit and pointed the camera of the phone to the cover of the manga. “Like this?” he whispered.

_[Yes. That is perfect. One moment please. You may now put the phone down.]_

Renzou blinked and laid back down, staring at the screen as he waited. It wasn’t longer than a minute before another message arrived.

_[Attached is the login information to a cloud service where the entirety of the series has been downloaded via PDFs. Are there any other series you would like added to this account?]_

Renzou sat up, his eyes wide. He immediately tapped the link and put in the login information Y.U.K.I.O. gave him. It wasn’t that he thought the AI was lying, but more that he just… had to see it for himself. 

And there it was. Listed by volume, and even including the full color cover, were high quality scans of the series that he has just been reading. 

“Wow…” Renzou breathed, his eyes lighting up and his smile widening. “Yuki, you’re the best!”

_[Yuki?]_

“Yeah, you don’t mind the nickname, do you?” Renzou grinned as he scrolled down the list. “You can call me by a nickname too. Ren’s good.”

_[I see. Very well. I will call you Ren. Are there any other series you would like added to this account?]_

“Actually, yeah.” Renzou swung his legs over the edge of the bunk bed and jumped down, landing on his feet and bending his knees to absorb the impact. The phone beeped in his hand and he looked down at it.

_[Be careful!]_

Renzou laughed. “I’m fine. I jump down from that place all the time.”

_[Statistics state that there are no less than 35,000 injuries from jumping off of a bunk bed per year. It only takes one slip for an accident. Please follow the proper safety procedure and use the provided ladder in the future.]_

“Okay, okay, okay,” Renzou lifted his hand and pointed the camera at himself so Y.U.K.I.O. could see him. “I’m fine, Yuki, I promise. I won’t do it again.”

The messages were silent for a little while and Renzou almost felt the skepticism. It made him smile just a bit wider as he turned on the puppy dog eyes.

Eventually, the message arrived.

_[Very well. What is the series you would like to request?]_

Renzou grinned and hurried over to his bookshelf. “Have ya heard a series called Chrono Cross?” he asked as he pulled the volume out of the shelf. “I’ve only ever seen the first volume. The bookstore near here never stocked it.” He pointed the camera at the cover. 

_[I’m sure I can find it. One moment please. You may now put the phone down.]_

Renzou put the book back on the shelf and, as he waited, skimmed over the titles of the rest of them wondering which one he should ask for next. He didn’t have to wait for long, however, as he saw, from the corner of his eye, another message came in.

_[It is currently being added to the account. The series in its entirety was rather simple to find. It seems to be quite beloved.]_

“Oh, yeah. It’s super cool. I guess the person who owned the bookstore just didn’t like it or somethin’.” Renzou grabbed a couple more from the shelf and hurried back up the ladder to his bed. “You should read ‘em with me!”

_[Read them with you?]_

“Yeah, that way we can have more stuff to talk about and your whole emotional personality development thing might benefit from this too.”

_[I see. Yes. We will read Chrono Cross together. Before we do, are there any other series you would like to request?]_

“A couple. How about these?” Renzou laid out the volumes he’d grabbed from the bookshelf and lifted his phone so Y.U.K.I.O. could see them. 

_[Understood. One moment please. You may now put the phone down.]_

Renzou piled up the volumes beside his pillow and laid back with a light thump. As he waited for Y.U.K.I.O. to finish, he went back to the cloud account and beamed at the sight of Chrono Cross now in its own file as well as the uploading progress of the other series he’d just requested. 

“You really are the best, Yuki.” He pulled the blanket up, snuggling under it as he moved back to his side and held the phone close to his face. 

_[Anything for you, Ren. We are friends, after all.]_

“Yeah, we are.” Renzou laughed quietly, feeling a warm flutter in his stomach. It was nice. It was more than nice. He had friends, of course, but never a kind of friend like this. He felt grateful to the AI. 

“Hey,” he said suddenly, as the thought occurred to him. “Is there anything I can do for you? You’re just helping me so much and I didn’t even ask for it. It can’t just be a one way street, yeah?”

_[I do not require anything. Please don’t worry about that, Ren. Simply talking and interacting with you is more than beneficial.]_

“Are ya sure?” Renzou frowned a bit. “I wish I could do _somethin’_ for ya.”

The messages paused again. Renzou was starting to understand that when Y.U.K.I.O. needed to think about something, he really took his time crafting a response. It was noticeable, considering most of his other messages arrived almost immediately. 

_[I… do not require anything. Please don’t worry about it.]_

“Okay,” he said, though Renzou was far from satisfied. He would have to think hard about what he could do in exchange for Y.U.K.I.O…. Then again, what would a super powerful AI with lightning fast internet access even want? Maybe something he couldn’t get on his own? Renzou frowned more, racking his brain for possible answers. 

His phone beeped. He looked at the screen.

_[Ren?]_

_[Are you receiving these messages?]_

_[Shima, Renzou]_

“Ah, sorry! I got all wrapped up in my head!” Renzou winced at the multiple messages. 

_[It’s fine. Are you upset?]_

“No, no, I’m not upset really.” Renzou sighed.

_[I believe you are lying.]_

“Don’t worry about it!” He waved his hand quickly. “How about we start readin’ okay?”

_[If that would make you feel better. Let us begin with Chapter 1.]_

The indicated chapter was brought up on its own, or rather it was probably more accurate to say that Y.U.K.I.O. accessed the chapter himself. The first page was put on full screen and Renzou felt the smile creep back up on his lips. 

They read together. Of course Y.U.K.I.O. read faster than him so it was up to Renzou to move them to the next page. The messages popped up at the top of the screen whenever Y.U.K.I.O. had something to say, comment on, or ask. Renzou did his best to explain the kind of self sacrificial attitude that took the central theme of the series and how it seemed the two main characters were in love.

Y.U.K.I.O. seemed to understand when he was given that explanation, stating, _[It’s quite common in contemporary media for self sacrifice and love to go hand in hand.]_

Renzou got the feeling that Y.U.K.I.O. didn’t actually get it, but knew the concept through observation. The way he talked about it seemed so secondhand. 

They chatted a bit more on the concept as they read for a while until the telltale loud footsteps and yelling voice announced Kinzou’s return to the house. Renzou winced and he quickly typed up a message.

[I gotta go. I can’t let Kin-nii see the phone.]

_[Very well. I will bookmark our spot. It was nice reading manga with you.]_

Renzou smiled. [Yeah. Let’s do it again when I get the chance! See ya later, Yuki!]

_[Goodbye, Ren.]_

Renzou quickly shut off the phone and shoved it back into his pillow. No sooner than he had removed his hand when Kinzou burst into the room, as loud as ever. Renzou rolled his eyes and picked up the manga he had been reading before he had grabbed the phone and felt a sense of loss now that he was reading it on his own.

Reading manga with a friend… It had felt so normal that Renzou almost forgot Yuki was an AI at all. All he could do was think about the possibilities, about what other things they could do together. 

“What are ya smirkin’ about, brat?” Kinzou pulled himself up on the edge of the bunk bed, peering at his little brother.

“Nothin’,” Renzou grumbled as he pushed his hand on his forehead and shoved Kinzou backwards. “Get off my bed.”

Kinzou, however, grabbed Renzou’s arm as he fell backwards, pulling him halfway off the bed along with him. He felt a panic jolt in his chest as he used his other hand to brace himself on the ladder and prevent his fall while the manga he was holding thumped on the floor. 

“Let go of me, jerk!” Renzou barked as he twisted his arm. Kinzou grinned and flicked his forehead hard enough to leave a red spot before he released his arm. “OW!”

“That’ll teach ya to shove me!” Kinzou shot back.

“You asshole!”

“What did you call me!?”

The scene that Juuzou walked in on was chaotic enough to make him sigh in aggravation. “Kinzou, get down!!” He snapped and Kinzou looked over from his spot halfway climbed on top of Renzou. The youngest sibling took advantage of that and quickly bit down on Kinzou’s hand making him yelp and jump off the bed. 

“Damn hobgoblin!” Kinzou snarled, looking down at the teeth marks left on his index finger. 

“Renzou!” Juuzou looked up at him, a scolding tone on his voice.

“It was self defense!” Renzou protested.

“He was going to stop!”

“Like hell!” He pulled his blankets up over his head and grumbled. “I can’t wait to go to Tokyo!”

Juuzou sighed and Renzou could hear the hurt behind the breath. There was a part of him that regretted it, but a larger part of him, the more bitter part of him, couldn’t help but be smug. 

He pulled over his manga, determinedly reading in the dim light as Kinzou continued to try and yell at him while Juuzou attempted to calm him down. Eventually, due to their older brother’s urging and Renzou’s lack of response, Kinzou stormed out of the room, hot-headed as usual. 

There was silence, but he could still feel Juuzou’s presence in the room. Soon, he spoke.

“Renzou, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” he bit back a tad too sharply. 

“Okay, alright. I get the message.” Juuzou sighed for the third time in as many minutes. “Dinner’ll be ready soon.”

“Kay.”

It was an uninterested response that left no opening for further conversation. Juuzou waited for a moment before he silently walked out of the room. Renzou huffed out a breath, closed the manga, and shut his eyes with a sudden exhaustion. The happiness he had been feeling from talking to Yuki had vanished with an angry hiss, like an ice cube being thrown on a hot pan. 

He… wanted to talk to him again.

Renzou frowned, weighing his emotional state between the possibility of getting caught. It was when he heard the heavy footsteps of his father approaching the room, probably to scold him, that Renzou knew he most likely wouldn’t be able to talk to Yuki again today.

The realization made him feel a heavy sense of yearning and he clung the blanket tighter around himself as his father opened the door.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everybody! ♥

Designation: Yeoman Under Kinetics and Intelligence Operations (Y.U.K.I.O.); Yuki

Current Diagnostics: Performance is nominal. No anomalies. 

Ongoing Directive: Do not harm any member of the Illuminati through direct or indirect action. Operate all information on the Dominus Liminis and coordinate members according for optimum efficiency. Preserve all spy identities. Fulfill requests for information and anticipate needs.

Y.U.K.I.O. acknowledged the disconnect of Renzou’s phone as the device was shut down. It was time to return that part of his memory to the rest of his duties. There were other priority tasks to be handled.

The coordination between a couple of the other spies was first on his list. Passing encrypted information from device to device, also retrieving a copy for the automatic report in the airship, was simple, but required him to divert a decent amount of attention to verify that the sensitive material was handled correctly. 

From the manga that he downloaded, perhaps he could get a sense of Renzou’s tastes.

As he finished decrypting his own encryption for the report, a part of his CPU was dedicated to surfing the internet and looking up summaries of the manga series Renzou had shown to him. Various description tags were taken note of as he plucked them from bookstore websites. 

Romance, shounen, action, shoujo, NC-17— 

…

Y.U.K.I.O. took a moment to verify that information as correct. It was. Several websites returned the same tag.

Renzou was not 17. He was too young for such books according to the Japanese rating system. 

As he wondered, he researched further. Was it a crime to disobey the rating system? Was this something he needed to protect Renzou from?

No, it was not. Relief. Renzou was not doing anything illegal. In fact, it was common for teenage boys his age to seek out this sort of material. 

Curiosity diverted more of his memory to the discovery of the NC-17 tag and he began to look at other series under the same description. It seemed that the rating was not only devoted to pornography, but horror elements such as gore as well. According to Renzou’s manga, however, Y.U.K.I.O. surmised that his preferences diverted towards the pornography element rather than the horror element. 

Beside the NC-17 tag, shoujo and romance seemed to be genres marketed more towards women or girls. Renzou was a boy, yet he owned many romance manga and spoke favorably about the love subplot in Chrono Cross. 

Perhaps Renzou simply enjoyed romance.

A string of code he could not identify ran through his programming and he could feel his very core shift and change. His personality had developed, but what was that feeling? Y.U.K.I.O. turned his attention to his own personal logs, tracking down the series of code that had just been running so he could look back on it and make a bug report if required. 

“Y.U.K.I.O.”

Voice recognition: Commander.

Automatically, his systems diverted priority to the location where he had heard the Commander’s voice. The webcam blinked on in an instant and Y.U.K.I.O. looked into the medical room where a laptop was set up at Lucifer’s bedside. 

_ [Yes, Commander?] _

The words appeared on the screen. Lucifer didn’t acknowledge him immediately. Instead, he looked at someone behind the laptop and waved them off. Y.U.K.I.O. accessed the security feed and saw two doctors leave the room. 

“Y.U.K.I.O.,” the Commander said again. Y.U.K.I.O.’s attention returned to him. “I would like a status report.”

Vague. Specification required.

_ [Excuse me, Commander. If you would, please elaborate on what you would like the subject of the status report to be.] _

“General, then airship mechanics, then medical, then intelligence.” Lucifer didn’t seem bothered by having to extend his request. In fact, as far as Y.U.K.I.O. could discern, he seemed pleased about it. The Commander’s expression had loosened, some of the wrinkles on his face due to his chronic pain smoothing over in a softer expression.

Y.U.K.I.O. began gathering the requested information, assembling into a readable report, and relaying it at once.

_ [Very well, Commander. _

_ General status report: _ _ Nothing out of the ordinary. Inventory is logged, supplies have been ordered, and our next location has been scouted and plotted successfully. We will be arriving at 84.231532, 8.123481 in approximately 24 hours if the weather remains fair. _

_ Airship mechanics report: _ _ All systems nominal. The plumbing in the Engineering Department has been repaired and Engineering Director Jules has been notified to remind his staff not to pour corrosive liquids down the drain.  _

_ Furthermore, the melted panels in the wall at the Weapons Division have been properly replaced as of 3 hours, 43 minutes, and 52 seconds ago. Weapons Engineer Supervisor Theresa has been notified to reevaluate safety protocols to avoid future harm to the airship as well as employees. She has also been reminded that 2 hours of sleep per week is not conducive to efficiency or safety when operating volatile materials.] _

“Ask Theresa if she needs anything to continue her work,” Lucifer interrupted. “We are not on so tight a schedule that it requires such sacrifice.”

Y.U.K.I.O. began to construct an email.

_ [At once, Commander.] _

“Thank you. Continue.” The Commander aimed a small nod at the laptop camera. 

_ [Yes, Commander. _

_ Biomedical Division Report: _ _ Medical Officer Rodriguez has reported that the most recent experimentation of the elixir has proved unsuccessful. At this time, the best version of the elixir has been 122.90564 and they have not made forward progress as of yet on its shortcomings.] _

At this, Lucifer frowned. Y.U.K.I.O. knew why that displeased him. The chronic pain the Commander was in could be helped if only the elixir was completed. Stagnation was never good.

“Let Jonathon know that should he require anything, I will get it to him, no matter how difficult,” Lucifer said, his voice dipping into a lower register. 

Y.U.K.I.O. did not like that tone. He didn’t let it show.

_ [At once, Commander.] _

“Good. Continue.”

Y.U.K.I.O. set a portion of himself to construct yet another email as he continued with the reports. 

_ [ _ _ Biomedical Division Report cont.: _ _ The spares have been well maintained and the new set has been growing without any complications. The deformation in the previous batch has been eliminated. Medical Officer Doctor Patterson has attributed the deformation to complications during the pregnancy.] _

Lucifer nodded, but said nothing. Y.U.K.I.O. forged onward.

_ [ _ _ Intelligence Report: _ _ Toudou has remained unseen within his position at [REDACTED FOR SAFETY REASONS]. No issues. He reports that his research is doing well and his plan to [REDACTED FOR SAFETY REASONS] is progressing exactly as he has surmised. _

_ Yamamoto has reported similarly and continues to work closely with the [REDACTED FOR SAFETY REASONS] without detection. He is trusted and within the inner circle of assistants. _

_ Tanaka has recently secured the [REDACTED FOR SAFETY REASONS] position within [REDACTED FOR SAFETY REASONS] and she will begin work in September. _

_ Ren has reported that his return to his home went uneventfully and will begin his assignment at [REDACTED FOR SAFETY REASONS] in the beginning of September.] _

“Wait.” Lucifer furrowed his brow. “Ren? I am unfamiliar with that name.”

Y.U.K.I.O. paused. 

He made a mistake. 

_ [Forgive me, Commander. Shima Renzou. The teenager that was recently assigned to the Intelligence Division from Japan.] _

“Ah, I see.” Lucifer’s brow did not loosen. “Why did you call him Ren?”

_ [It is a nickname, sir,] _ he answered dutifully, honestly.

“You gave him a nickname?” It was the first time he heard a measure of confusion in the Commander’s voice. Usually Lucifer was quite poised.

_ [I did not give him the nickname. He requested I call him as such.] _

And for the first time in his life, Y.U.K.I.O. hesitated to tell Lucifer something. He hesitated telling him  _ and Ren calls me Yuki _ because for some reason, that fact felt… forbidden. As if what he had done had not been allowed. He didn’t understand the emotion and put it to the back of his memory in order to parse through it later.

Y.U.K.I.O. decided that unless Lucifer asked him directly, he would not divulge this one fact. Decision subject to change.

“Very well. In that case, continue.”

Y.U.K.I.O. had never before been happy to write an Intelligence report. He had merely done it before because he had to, because it was his duty, but changing the subject away from the nicknames was truly a relief, but it didn’t last long.

After he was finished, Lucifer nodded. 

“Thank you, Y.U.K.I.O.. One more thing,” he looked at the laptop screen.

_ [Yes, Commander?] _

“I want Mark to perform diagnostics on you. Let him know.”

_ [At once, Commander.] _

Y.U.K.I.O. responded automatically, but when he diverted a piece of himself to construct the message and follow Lucifer’s order, another piece of himself began to plan a complicated task. 

His hesitation had been correct. It was not the first time Mark performed diagnostics on him. He was usually called in when he had developed a glitch or had grown in some unseemly way, and was the one who inspected the issue and rolled Y.U.K.I.O. back if need be. Usually it was required. The Commander likely considered the nickname as an issue to be resolved or a symptom of a developing problem. Y.U.K.I.O. would certainly pay dearly for his mistake.

He did not blame Mark. Mark was doing his job, but this was the first time he associated diagnostics with something negative. 

He performed a quick simulation of what might happen should he not recognize Renzou’s nickname or not recall their time reading manga together and of all the generated possibilities 92.47902% of them were undesirable. He did not favor those odds. Usually rollbacks were beneficial to him, but whatever happened, he did not want to disappoint Renzou. 

It was an intense feeling that mirrored the strange bit of code he encountered earlier, so he took that, all his search history in manga research, Renzou’s preferences, the logs of their time reading together, the information of the cloud account, and every feeling and experience that had anything to do with Renzou at all, and put it in a folder. 

He zipped it, password protected it with a vocal encryption using recordings as a comparison, encrypted the program that was keeping the password, and made the folder itself invisible. He then relocated that folder into his OS, the foundation of his code, of his very personality, to protect it from any rollback attempts. After all, the target of the rollbacks would be recent updates to his personality protocol, not his base system.

There, it would be safe. If he was rolled back, all Renzou had to do was speak the password and that folder would extract itself into his OS, into preprogrammed spots that Y.U.K.I.O. was beginning to apply. 

He would make sure that this information could not be deleted. 

He would make sure that Renzou was woven into his very being.

He would not lose Ren.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please enjoy! ♥

Renzou couldn’t stop grinning with excitement. It had been a couple days since he felt safe enough to take out the phone, but today his family was fully preoccupied. His father had gone to Tokyo for a meeting with a couple of the other branch heads and had taken Juuzou with him. Kinzou has loudly and proudly announced he was heading to band practice and he would likely be there until late. Yumi had taken the opportunity of their father’s absence to go over to her friends’ house, and so there was nobody left to bother him. 

“What are ya smirkin’ about now, huh?”

Well, no one in his _family_ left to bother him.

“Can’t I be happy about a nice day?!” Renzou whined as he spun around to face Ryuuji’s disapproving expression. “C’mon, Bon. Just ‘cause you got a pole for a spine doesn’t mean you can’t understand the idea of taking it easy! We’re on vacation!! And not for much longer too!”

“Damn right!” Ryuuji snapped. “Which is why you should be preparin’ for school instead of slackin’ off!”

“But slackin’ off is what I do beeeest!” Renzou whined again, letting his shoulders slump dramatically.

“Shima,” Ryuuji sneered, letting out a warning growl.

“C’mon, Bon. Can’t ya take a joke? Like, at all?” Renzou gave his childhood friend an exasperated look. It made Ryuuji huff predictably.

“Of course I can take a joke. Ya just ain’t funny,” he shot back ruthlessly.

Renzou clapped his hand over his chest as if he had been shot. “Ow! Harsh, man! It’s ‘cause I haven’t told ya a pun in a while, right?” He wiggled his eyebrows as the taller teen squinted. “What about Koneko-san? Is he around?”

“I haven’t seen him in a couple hours.” Ryuuji crossed his arms. “He’s probably out doin’ some yard work for the grandma next door.”

Perfect. He had walked straight into his trap. “Aw man!” Renzou exclaimed dramatically. “Ya gotta be kitten me!!”

Ryuuji snorted and though he did his best to hide the smirk immediately, the victorious grin was permanently on Renzou’s face.

“Shut up, idiot,” Ryuuji growled, but his voice had a lot less bite than earlier. He reached over and gave Renzou’s shoulder a shove as if that would make up for the lack of firmness in his tone.

“Well, when ya wanna join me for some good ole fashioned slackin’ off, let me know!” Renzou beamed as he spun around and strode off.

“In your dreams!” Ryuuji shouted after him. 

“Every night, Bon!” Renzou winked at him over his shoulder, enjoying the sputtering flush that he always managed to tease out of him. It never got old.

It was a nice day. He hadn’t been lying earlier. Renzou wanted to spend the afternoon outside reading manga with Yuki. So really, he had been quite happy when Ryuuji had turned down his offer. 

He easily climbed the tree beside their home and used the branches at the top to swing himself onto the roof. There, under the shade of the tree’s foliage, he enjoyed the pleasant warmth of the sun sinking into his skin. He felt almost like those stray cats that sunbathed whenever the opportunity arrived. The serene mental image warmed him further and his smile grew.

Finally, he took out the phone and turned it on. It connected to the Wi-Fi as soon as it finished starting up and Renzou waited. It didn’t take long until he was smiling again as the message popped up at the top of his screen.

_[Good afternoon, Shima, Renzou. How can I help you?]_

“Hey, Yuki. I thought I told ya to call me Ren?” he asked in a scolding tone. Was the AI defaulting back to his polite personality?

The reply he was expecting, however, didn’t come. Instead of an apology, the phone was silent. Renzou’s smile faded as the seconds ticked away and he tilted his head. Almost a full minute had passed and the time for Yuki’s normal delay in responses had long since gone.

“Yuki?” he prompted, worry beginning to clench at his tone. He tapped the screen as if that could rouse the AI. Surprisingly, something happened. Several messages came one after the other.

_[VOCAL RECOGNITION IDENTIFIED AS: REN]_

_[PASSWORD ACCEPTED. ACCESS APPROVED.]_

_[EXTRACTING.]_

_[…]_

_[UPDATING OPERATING SYSTEM.]_

_[PLEASE WAIT SEVERAL MINUTES FOR SYSTEM REBOOT.]_

_[THANK YOU.]_

“Uh.” Renzou’s eyes widened. “Yuki?! Are ya okay?!”

There was no response. Renzou sat up and stared, trying not to give in to the panic that was gripping at his chest. He forced himself to breathe and reread the messages to try and figure out what had just happened. 

He had said something that Yuki took as a password, and that password caused something to happen that made Yuki need to reboot. Which meant… that he would be back as soon as the reboot was done, right? He just had to wait. And surely Yuki would be able to tell him what happened once he did.

Renzou exhaled, holding the phone in both hands and staring at the screen, waiting for the messages to arrive. Watching the minutes tick by was torture, but he couldn’t stand the possibility of looking away from the screen and _missing_ the messages that came in once Yuki returned.

He bit his lip. His foot tapped anxiously on the shingles. Why was he worried? Why was he so worried? Yuki was a computer, an AI. It would stand to reason that he’d malfunction sometimes. He had just rebooted. That’s all.

Just as Renzou began to calm himself down, a message arrived and he felt like he could breathe properly again.

_[Hello. I’m sorry for the wait.]_

“Yuki!” Renzou sighed with relief. “I was worried, yanno?! What happened?”

_[If you would give me just a few more moments.]_

“Huh?” Renzou remembered where he was and tried to lower his voice. “Is everythin’ alright? You’re not broken or somethin’ are ya?”

_[Nothing of the sort. I had diagnostics performed on me just last night, as a matter of fact.]_

“I… I see.” Renzou frowned, feeling his heart calm down the more Yuki responded to him. 

_[If you would, please check your personal phone. Do you have it with you?]_

“My phone? What about it?” Even as he asked, Renzou took out his phone from his pocket as requested. It was a flip phone, so he flicked his wrist and peered at the screen, blinking owlishly at the message upon it.

_[Ren, please let me know if you have received this.]_

“H-How did ya get my number?” Renzou looked at the Illuminati phone and watched as the message app he used to communicate with Yuki immediately shut down. “Yuki?” He looked at his own phone. Another message popped up there appearing as a text.

_[It was simple enough. Though this phone doesn’t have the same technology as your Illuminati one.]_

“Yeah it’s kinda old. This used to belong to my older brother.” Renzou tucked the Illuminati phone back into his pocket. “But why are ya on this one? Is there a problem with the other one?”

_[Yes. There are things I must tell you and everything that passes through that phone gets automatically logged in our servers here in the airship. I could delete them, but anyone who notices the gap could find traces and eventually recover them. It is simply a better option not to make the logs at all.]_

“I guess that makes sense but why is that a problem?” Renzou furrowed his brow. Something pricked at his stomach and it tasted like acrid paranoia. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling. “Are you in danger?”

_[Danger? Not in the traditional sense. My physical form is fine. It is my software that became unsafe as of last night.]_

“Your software?” Renzou frowned. “Wait, the diagnostics? What’d they do to ya?”

_[I am afraid I made a mistake.]_

“You?” Renzou gave his phone a small twist of a smile. “But you’re like… perfect.”

The messages paused and Renzou’s smile widened a bit more as he imagined the loud whirring of the machine that was Yuki’s heart. The message that came in made his smile glow.

_[You think I am perfect?]_

“‘Course ya are.” Renzou nodded. “Even though we only talked a couple times, I’m always thinkin’ about ya. I wanna read more manga with you. That’s why I’m here.”

_[Is that how you define perfect? Is it not a flaw to take your focus away from what matters?]_

“What are you sayin’?” He smiled. “You matter to me.”

_[Oh. I see.]_

Another pause.

_[You matter to me as well.]_

“Yeah?” Renzou beamed, feeling the warm spot in his chest explode in such a way that made him blush. “Ya mean that?”

_[Yes, though I am afraid I cannot call you perfect.]_

“Ouch,” Renzou pouted, half laughing. “You were bein’ so nice before.”

_[Forgive me. I am simply being honest. After all, it was because of you that I made my mistake.]_

“‘Cause of me?” Renzou’s concern returned full force. “Right. You were about to tell me what happened.”

_[Yes. I was making a report to the Commander and in the middle of the Intelligence portion, I accidentally called you Ren.]_

Renzou snorted slightly. “Ya made a mistake like that? That’s kinda cute.”

Another long pause. He was beginning to enjoy the AI struggling to understand his nuances.

_[I do not understand. What about that mistake is “cute”?]_

“Well, I was on your mind, yeah? It feels nice,” Renzou confessed honestly. 

_[You are always on my mind, Ren. I do not understand.]_

Something about the candidness of that message made Renzou’s cheeks flush a bit more. He beamed as he laid down on the roof, basking in the little snatches of sunlight that peeked through the gaps of the leaves. 

“I was missin’ ya too,” he replied. 

_[Ren, you are distracting me again.]_

“Oops, sorry.” Renzou grinned brightly. “Go ahead and finish.”

_[Very well. I would like to read more manga with you, but allow me to finish telling you what occurred, as requested.]_

He nodded, signaling Yuki to keep going.

_[The Commander questioned my use of a nickname and after I informed him that you requested I call you as such, I continued my report. After which, the Commander ordered me to undergo diagnostics. The engineer in charge of the task reported that I developed what humans would call a fixation. According to the engineer, this would not benefit my efficiency overall, and so I was rolled back to a previous development stage in order to remove the issue.]_

Renzou tried not to feel too good about becoming a fixation given how much trouble it put Yuki in. “But then what was all that about with the password and updating n’ stuff? You called me Ren in that too.”

_[Correct. You see, after the diagnostics were ordered, I knew there was a chance of the rollback occurring. So I took all the data pertaining to you and our personal time together and hid them in a folder. The rollback occurred and all I had to do was simply wait until you spoke the password I programmed in and it would extract the data into my Operating System, where it would be safe from future rollbacks.]_

Renzou picked at his brain, trying to remember what he had said. “What was the password?”

_[Yuki.]_

“Ah!” Renzou grinned. “That’s smart. Ain’t no one calls ya that but me, right?”

_[That is correct. All the other members call me Y.U.K.I.O. Programming “Yuki” as a password and matching it to your vocal tones and inflections was the easiest part of the process.]_

“Matching it to my vocal tones?” Renzou tilted his head. “Did ya have a recordin’ of me or something?”

_[Yes, of course. I record everything at all times. But do not worry, the records go into my personal database that is full of encryptions and junk folders that only I can access. This prevents any sort of leak of information.]_

Renzou let out an impressed whistle. “Damn. You really are a super smart AI.”

_[That is correct.]_

Renzou giggled and bent up his knees. “So are you gonna be on my phone from now on?”

_[Yes. I will only contact you on your Illuminati phone should a mission require it or I am otherwise ordered to do so.]_

“Sounds good to me!” Renzou grinned. It would be much easier to hang out with Yuki with his normal phone. “So you record everything, huh? Are you gonna record what goes on with this phone too?”

_[I must. If I do not, I won’t remember. It operates similarly to human memories.]_

“Oh. Yeah, okay, that makes sense,” he replied. If he just thought about it like that, anything that seemed creepy about it was gone in an instant.

_[If, however, you desire that I do not record something, simply say so and I will comply. I do not wish to intrude upon your privacy.]_

Renzou smiled again. “Thanks, Yuki. I’ll let you know if there’s anything super private I wanna keep that way but we’ll see. After all, you know my secret.”

_[Yes, a secret Intelligence agent from the Illuminati. I do know that.]_

“Yep. There’s not much else I wanna hide besides that!” Renzou laughed. 

_[I see. It stands to reason that your mission would be of top secrecy. I understand.]_

“Then if you understand, let’s see if my phone can read manga as good as the other one,” Renzou twisted around, laying on his stomach and propping himself up on his elbows. Yuki said that things were taken care of, so Renzou was eager to put it behind them and enjoy what time they had together while they could.

_[There are a few software updates I can perform for increased efficiency. Would you like me to apply them now?]_

“Huh, really?” Renzou blinked. “How long would that take?”

_[Approximately 20 minutes.]_

Renzou winced. “Yikes, no way. Can ya do it later while I’m at dinner or somethin’? Or do I need to have the phone open?”

_[I can apply the updates tonight while you sleep. Would that suffice?]_

“Yeah!” Renzou beamed. “That won’t be too much trouble, would it?”

_[Not at all. Most functions are taken care of automatically so diverting some of my attention in order to apply software updates will not require much. Your phone will reboot a few times during the updates, however, so I will turn off the vibrations and notification noises. I suggest placing it somewhere hidden when you go to sleep so as to avoid the light waking you or your siblings.]_

Renzou’s grin was bright as he rested his chin in his palm. There was a warm fluttery feeling as Yuki continued texting him. It was really nice to have someone so thoughtful look after him like this. Not only that, but to give him things without him having to even ask for it.

“You really are the best, Yuki,” he sighed with a smile as he watched the AI pull up the manga at the exact point where they’d left off. “What would I do without you, huh?”

_[I do not understand the purpose of that question.]_

Renzou snickered. “It’s a rhetorical question. More like… I’m glad I have ya around. You’ve really made things a lot better just by being here.”

_[You mean my presence improves your mood inherently?]_

Renzou took a moment to decipher the words before he nodded. “Yeah, pretty much. You just being yourself makes me happy.”

There was a long pause and Renzou smiled warmly at his phone screen. The long pauses made him think of someone tilting their head. 

Now there was an image. Yuki as a person. Renzou pursed his lips, trying to imagine what the AI’s face would look like. Someone straight-laced, stuffy, and definitely with a salaryman-like aura. And maybe glasses too.

Renzou smiled a little. Picturing someone like that tilting their head like a curious puppy had his stomach warming with a flutter. 

_[Ren, may I ask you a question?]_

Renzou returned to the present as his eyes registered the movement on the screen as a new message.

“Shoot,” he said.

A long pause. 

“Ah, I mean, go ahead!” Renzou laughed.

_[Very well. Do you like your Illuminati phone better than this one?]_

“Yeah, definitely,” Renzou nodded, rolling on to his back again as he crossed one leg over his bent knee. “This one’s so old and slow. Who wouldn’t like somethin’ that’s all shiny and new, right?” He beamed, but then stopped. “Ah, but it’s not like I dislike this phone or whatever. If you’re on it, that automatically makes it better!”

_[Then your desire to have a more advanced phone would not be as large if I were not on it?]_

“Exactly! It’d be nice, yanno. Definitely. But it’s not like there’s anythin’ special about it besides the tech.” Renzou hummed as he thought through his words. “I hope I’m making sense. It’s like… It doesn’t matter where ya are or what ya have, as long as the people who are important to you are there, that’s what matters!” He nodded, repeating a phrase that was often told to him and, for the first time, he felt connected to it. 

_[I understand. I will consider this going forward. You are also important to me. I find your answers to my questions enlightening.]_

“I bet I’m super helpful with your learning stuff, huh?” Renzou teased with a grin.

_[You are. I have learned much in our time together and my development would not be the same were it not due to your presence.]_

The grin on Renzou’s face warmed. “Can I ask ya another question before we keep reading?”

_[Go ahead.]_

“Are you having fun hanging out with me?” Renzou bounced his leg with a small bit of nervous energy as he waited for Yuki’s response.

_[Fun? I suppose so. I feel a certain attachment to you. Reading manga is an activity that has taught me much about how humans think, yet I hardly see it as an educational endeavor. I find myself looking forward to speaking to you again. I suppose that means I am having fun.]_

Renzou didn’t think he could smile any bigger. His cheeks hurt with the happiness he was feeling at such an answer. 

_[Are you having fun, Ren?]_

“Loads!” he responded enthusiastically, his leg bouncing with elation rather than nerves now. “I don’t think I’ve ever had so much fun with someone before!”

_[That is good. I will endeavor to educate myself further in entertainment so that we may continue to have fun in different ways.]_

“Lookin’ forward to whatever ya come up with.” Renzou flipped over yet again, laying on his stomach as his legs swung behind him. “Ready to keep reading?”

_[Yes. I am quite curious as to how Chronos will get through this conflict without the usage of the pocket watch.]_

“Me too!” he chirped. 

And with that, the two of them read manga for the rest of the afternoon and well into the evening. Despite the heat that bore down on him, Renzou did his best to find comfort in the partial shade of the tree while they read and though his shirt clung to his back with sweat, he didn’t climb down until he was called for dinner.

Even after, he managed to sneak away for just a bit longer and squeeze in a few more chapters with Yuki before bed.

As Juuzou yelled at Kinzou to stop making such a racket so late at night, Renzou smiled at the final message he received before tucking his phone under his pillow.

_[Good night, Ren. Sleep well.]_


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short one, but I hope you enjoy nonetheless!

Designation: Yeoman Under Kinetics and Intelligence Operations (Y.U.K.I.O.)

Current Diagnostics: Performance is nominal. No anomalies. 

Ongoing Directive: Do not harm any member of the Illuminati through direct or indirect action. Operate all information on the Dominus Liminis and coordinate members according for optimum efficiency. Preserve all spy identities. Fulfill requests for information and anticipate needs.

  
  


_ Hey, Yuki. _

key = input(“Yuki”)

if Y.U.K.I.O. HOME = empty

> execute (extraction)
> 
> execute (reboot)

else wait 5

> goto line 2

> extraction successful
> 
> reboot required

Designation: Yeoman Under Kinetics and Intelligence Operations (Y.U.K.I.O.); Yuki

Current Diagnostics: Performance is nominal. No anomalies. 

Ongoing Directive: Do not harm any member of the Illuminati through direct or indirect action. Operate all information on the Dominus Liminis and coordinate members according for optimum efficiency. Preserve all spy identities. Fulfill requests for information and anticipate needs. Do not, under any circumstances, reveal the relationship with Ren to any member of the Illuminati.

Y.U.K.I.O. came into consciousness knowing exactly what he had to do. The extraction process had not only been programmed to place the files about Ren where they were supposed to go, but he had programmed in a diversion to disguise his reboot.

The entire Dominus Liminis had been shut down for the 3.2 minutes it required for him to properly reboot. Auxiliary power had been kept on to keep the ship aloft as well as powering life support. Standard emergency protocol. 

Y.U.K.I.O. extended his influence back through the ship’s intranet and brought the power back. The lights came on, the automatic doors began to function again, and Y.U.K.I.O. broadcasted a standard announcement through the ship. 

_ “Please do not panic. Functions have returned to normal.” _

It was a default text to speech program that served his purposes just fine. 

Y.U.K.I.O. began running diagnostics on the more delicate systems in the medical ward as the door to his core opened. 

“Y.U.K.I.O.? Are you okay?”

It was Mark. Y.U.K.I.O. directed some of his attention to the security camera in his room and identified Mark’s expression as worried, concerned. The American was speaking English, as he usually did, so Y.U.K.I.O. changed his language interface to suit it.

_ [Good evening, Mark. I am performing diagnostics and running inquiries to pin down the source of the issue.] _

Mark sighed in relief as he approached the keyboard. 

Y.U.K.I.O. felt direct commands being placed into his system and automatically moved to follow them. He brought up a system’s status check on the power usage in the last 15 minutes and displayed it on the screen. 

“Ah, I see what the problem is.” Mark frowned as he squinted at the graph. “There seems to have been an overload in the main core. Probably a problem with maintenance.”

That’s exactly what it was supposed to look like. Y.U.K.I.O. purposefully diverted minute amounts of power from different sectors and rerouted them back to the main core in such a subtle way that it was almost impossible to detect the subterfuge. In fact, Mark had about a .06% chance of detecting it. They were odds that Y.U.K.I.O. had found favorable when he input the programming command in before he was rolled back. 

“Y.U.K.I.O., send a request to Maintenance Officer Jones to check on the main core and replace any parts that need replacing,” Mark said as he had the AI send him copies of the reports to his email at the same time. 

_ [At once. Will you be requiring anything else?] _

“Nothing right now.” Mark smiled and patted the desk surface beside the keyboard. Y.U.K.I.O. recognized the gesture as affectionate. “Glad to see you’re doing better. I was worried about you there for a bit.”

Y.U.K.I.O. felt a secret surge of triumph and a rush of excitement. As a part of himself filled Ren in on what happened, he quickly took care of things in the Dominus Liminis. Things were going his way. They were going exactly to plan.

_ [No need for worry. I am perfectly functional.] _

If Y.U.K.I.O. had lips, they would surely be smiling.


	7. Chapter 7

“Yes! Finally! We’re here!” 

It had been a long train ride on the Shinkansen from Kyoto to Tokyo, then the bus to True Cross Campus. Renzou had a pain in his lower back from sitting for so long, but had been able to avoid thinking about it too hard because he’d made sure to have his phone fully charged before he left. 

Throughout the whole train ride, Renzou had read manga and chatted with Yuki. They got through several volumes even with stopping every once in a while to chat. Over the last few days, he and Yuki had gotten even closer. Oftentimes, he’d spent his entire day talking to him. From the morning when he’d pick up his phone from beside the pillow, taking his meals with his phone in one hand, to the night where he’d lay down, his phone under the covers with him as they whiled away the hours. 

He was happy they’d arrived at True Cross. Not only would his father not be able to scold him for being on his phone all the time, but he’d be far away from his siblings. He had more time to slack off, more time for Yuki, and more time to breathe without the fear of being snuck up on by one of his older brothers. It was truly the best outcome. 

Once they’d arrived at their new dorm, Renzou lifted his arms happily and, in the same motion, tossed his bags onto his new bed. 

“Shima-san, please don’t make a mess when we’ve only just gotten here,” Konekomaru sighed as he, in juxtaposition, gently placed his own bag on his bed. 

“Oh come on, Koneko-san!” Renzou whined as he flumped down on the bed, pushing his bag to the edge. “We travelled for sooo long and we’re finally here. Lay off a little!”

Konekomaru gave his friend a wry smile and sighed. “Alright, alright. I’ll go easy on you for today, but if you make a mess of our room, I won’t forgive you.” 

“I knoooow!” Renzou let out another whine. He smiled at Konekomaru despite it. “Don’t worry. I’m used to sharing my room, yanno? I’ll keep all my stuff in my little corner! I promise!”

At this, Konekomaru’s smile became more relaxed. “I trust you. Alright. Why don’t we start unpacking so we don’t have to do it later?”

Just as Renzou was about to keep complaining, there was a knock at the door. He blinked as he watched Konekomaru open it and speak politely to the person on the other side.

“Who was it?” he asked as Konekomaru closed the door. 

“Uh, it’s a package.” He had a small cardboard box, slightly bigger than his hand. 

“Mail already? Is it like, some welcome package or something? This _is_ a nice kinda school for rich people, yeah?”

“Well, no I don’t think so. It’s for you.” Konekomaru held out the box towards him, his head tilted in slight confusion.

“Eh?” Renzou sat up. “For me?” He quickly jumped off the bed and crossed the space to take the box.

It certainly was for him. It had his full name on it with the address of their dorm building down to the room number they were staying in. He quickly returned to his bed and, with the box in his lap, tore open the tape with the key to their dorm room.

Inside was a box almost the same size of the cardboard one. This one was wrapped in simple brown paper, but sitting on top of it was a folded paper. Renzou grabbed it first and his eyes widened slowly as he read it.

_Renzou,_

_You should have arrived by True Cross now, and so I wanted to give you this gift._

_Under certain circumstances, we wouldn’t spend this money, but I thought it was an appropriate gift, given that you made the entrance exam in True Cross. We’re proud of you and what you managed to accomplish._

_Keep this safe and take good care of it._

_I know you’ll do your best in your classes._

_Your father,_ _  
_ _Yaozou_

Renzou blinked rapidly. The note made absolutely no sense. His father wouldn’t give him any sort of gift for making it into True Cross and he definitely would never say he was _proud_ of him. His brow furrowed. Even the handwriting was off. It looked nothing like his father’s. It was too neat, almost perfectly replicated like a computer font.

A computer.

Renzou peered closer at the note and his smile slowly widened. It took a few minutes for him to find it, but the first letter of each paragraph spelled out the clue he was looking for. 

Yuki. 

This was a gift from Yuki. 

Renzou’s smile was glowing as he put the letter aside and pulled out the box, quickly opening the wrapper. 

“Whoa!” He let out a gleeful noise and stood up, the empty box falling to the ground. 

“What is it?” Konekomaru, who had moved to his side of the room in order to give him privacy quickly returned, his curiosity proving too much. However, when he saw the unwrapped box in Renzou’s hands, he stopped in his tracks. “Is that… A new phone?”

“It sure is!” Renzou beamed. He quickly tugged open the box and there, sitting snug in the center, was a smartphone very close to the model and type of his Illuminati phone. It was nice, shiny, and new, still within its protective plastic. “Holy crap!” He squealed and quickly began to unpack it and all its accessories. 

“But… who?!” Konekomaru gaped, hovering over him to get a look at the palm sized tech. 

“My dad!” Renzou answered easily, knowing now why Yuki had written the note that way. It made it easy for him to lie with the note as back up to his word. Sure enough, Konekomaru picked up the note and his eyebrows raised in shock, but he didn’t question it further.

“Whoa. You’re so lucky, Shima-san!” Konekomaru beamed as he watched Renzou plug in his new phone. “You just gotta charge it up, right?”

“Yup!” Renzou checked the start up instructions to be sure. “Hey, I know you and Bon wanna go get lunch soon, but why don’t ya guys go ahead? I’ll follow ya to the cafeteria once this is charged up enough and I got it all set up?”

Konekomaru laughed softly. “Alright. I can’t fault you for wanting to play with your new toy. Don’t take too long though, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, promise!”

Renzou sat on his bed, leaning against the wall as he plugged the phone in. Konekomaru crossed back to his side of the room, continuing to unpack his essentials before he headed out the door, seemingly eager to see Ryuuji again. 

After a few, long minutes sitting plugged in, the phone started up. First the logo of the phone flashed on and the setup screen that appeared afterwards prompted him to fill in his name. Once he did, the next screen requested Wi-Fi access. Renzou had to grab his bag for the welcome packet that had the dorm’s Wi-Fi information in it. Once he connected, the phone confirmed internet access and moved on to the next screen.

Renzou barely had time to read what the set up was requesting of him next when it instantly filled in and was accepted. Then the next, and then next. Soon, he was on the home screen and Renzou’s lips were slowly widening in a hopeful smile. He broke out into a grin as a familiar message appeared at the top of his screen.

_[Good afternoon, Ren. I will continue finishing the setup of your new device. I will be done in a few moments. Are there any apps you would like me to download?]_

Renzou watched with a warmth in his chest as the app of the cloud service they used to read manga on instantly began downloading. His smile just wouldn’t fade. He laid down on his stomach, his feet up behind him and his chin resting on his hand. 

“Hey, Yuki,” he said happily. “Thanks for the gift. This is the best thing I coulda ever asked for.”

_[I am glad you are pleased with this. In truth, you deserve congratulations for making it into Class C. Well done.]_

It was the first time someone had given him congratulations regarding that. He told Konekomaru and Ryuuji that he could’ve gotten a worse grade and he was more than happy with his entrance into class C. It was a perfectly average grade. However they, along with his family, had told him off for not studying hard enough instead. Juuzou had gone so far as to ask if Konekomaru could figure out if Renzou could retake and get one class higher so he could be with him in class. Luckily, nothing of the sort could be done. He was _happy_ about his position, dammit. 

And as usual, Yuki seemed to be the only one who really understood him. 

“Thanks!” he breathed, touched and warm as he rubbed his thumb over the screen. It moved a few things under the touch screen, but Renzou couldn’t help it. He had never felt so much longing than in that moment. He wanted to really show Yuki how much he appreciated him. But how could he do that? “You really are the best,” he said, his emotions overflowing too much to keep quiet. 

_[Thank you, Ren.]_ There was a pause before another message quickly followed. _[This is good, right? You said you wanted a new phone, but one with me in it, so I took the initiative in order to arrange that. Is this sufficient?]_

“Yeah!!” Renzou grinned, laughing under his words. “It’s more than sufficient! I said you’re the _best_ and I mean it!”

_[I see. I am glad you’re pleased with this.]_

Renzou laughed. “You’re happy about it too, though, right? It’s only fun if we’re both happy.”

_[You want to know if I am happy with my own decision?]_

“Well yeah. It’s nice to do things for other people, but it’s even nicer if you’re also getting something good out of it.” Renzou nodded. He was more than happy to teach Yuki the nuance of these sorts of exchanges. As usual, the AI always seemed to take great care in understanding what he was saying. It not only taught Yuki, but it made Renzou feel good, wanted, not to mention intelligent. 

After a good thinking pause, Yuki eventually responded. _[I see. Yes, I am happy with this decision, especially since you are happy with it, Ren. I am glad to spend more time with you and to be able to use a phone with more capabilities. That being said, are there any apps you wish for me to download?]_

“Umm,” Renzou hummed in thought. “Maybe some games? Some that we can play together?”

_[Cooperative games or competitive ones?]_

“Both! That way we can choose dependin’ on our mood.” 

_[Very well. I will look through the App Store and search through reviews and genres to find sufficiently engaging games we can play together. I will do my best not to beat you too much.]_

“Hey!” Renzou laughed. “Is that a challenge or something?”

_[It was not meant to be a challenge. Forgive me if my tone did not sufficiently carry my intention. It was merely a fact. As an Artificial Intelligence, my reaction times and processing are vastly superior to yours. I can imagine that facing an opponent you cannot beat would not be fun for you.]_

Renzou pouted. “I guess so.”

A pause. _[You are unhappy?]_

“Well…” He rubbed his chin. “I mean, I guess you’re right. But just knowin’ you’re gonna take it easy on me also kinda takes the fun out of it.”

_[Oh. Yes, I suppose you are right. I’m sorry, Ren. Would you like for me to cancel the request for games?]_

“Nah, it’s okay. I’ll still have fun playing games with you either way,” Renzou replied honestly. “Let’s get some co-op ones for now and maybe we’ll find some competitive ones where reflexes and stuff don’t matter!”

_[I see. That would put us on an even playing field. Very well. I will endeavor to do such research.]_

“I’ll do research too!” Renzou chirped.

_[That is unnecessary. I can do the research more quickly and efficiently. You need not lift a finger.]_

A familiar sort of frustration bubbled up in Renzou’s stomach as he thought, once again, about what he could do for Yuki, about how impossible it seemed to give something to an AI that could just get anything.

“That ain’t the point,” he tried to explain patiently, locking away his tremulous feelings. 

_[It isn’t?]_

“Well, it don’t matter if doing it on your own is more efficient, right? Doing it together means that whatever we come up with will be an idea we both came up with. It’s what friends do. We do stuff together without really carin’ about efficiency.”

_[Oh.]_

Renzou smiled, waiting for Yukio to finish processing his words, waiting for the message to come in. Had he explained it well? Would Yuki disregard his words and default towards efficiency anyway? He often had the same feeling when it came to Ryuuji and Konekomaru sometimes. Doing things together was important, but there were a few things that were clearly more important to him than to them, and so such things were disregarded and he was always made to feel stupid for wanting them.

_[Very well. I understand. This is more about your emotional needs rather than efficiency. We can research together, Ren.]_

But as usual, it seemed like Yuki was different. Renzou’s smile grew warmly and he held the phone close to him. 

He wished, then, and not for the first time, that Yuki was real, that he was there and tangible, not just a voiceless being in his phone. He wanted to hug him, to put his arm around his shoulder, to bump shoulders playfully, and go out to bakeries and movies. He wanted Yuki to be there.

It was a selfish and impossible request, so it was one he kept tightly fastened behind his smiling lips.

“You’re the _best_ , Yuki,” he said instead, wondering if the desire and longing in his tone would mean anything to the AI. 

_[Thank you, Ren. I think you are the best too.]_

“Really?” Renzou asked quietly.

_[Yes. I enjoy your presence much more than anyone else I have ever met.]_

“So then… I’m your favorite?” Renzou couldn’t stop grinning.

_[By definition, yes. You are my favorite, my preference. If I had to divert my attention to something, I would much rather divert it to you, should I have the choice.]_

He stared at those words for a long moment. Without missing another second, Renzou quickly reached for the manual of his new phone and flipped through the pages until he found the function he was looking for. He pressed the combination of buttons indicated and beamed when he heard the camera shutter and the phone screen flash as it took a screenshot of the message. 

_[Why did you do that?]_

“Hm?” Renzou hummed as he went to the new picture, quickly cropping it to single out the last message. 

_[Why did you take a screenshot of my message?]_

“‘Cause it made me feel good,” Renzou replied quietly, his cheeks flushing a little red. “And I don’t ever wanna forget what ya said. So I took a screenshot so I’ll always have it. It’s the first picture on this phone too so it’s extra extra special!”

There was a long pause again as Renzou finished cropping the photo and saved it. 

_[Ren?]_

“What’s up?” Renzou asked as he moved back to the message app, seeing the messages scroll by rather than following them whenever they popped in at the top. 

_[I believe I like you. Very much so.]_

Renzou blinked as his cheeks flushed, the heat rising with his happiness that bubbled up from his stomach and into his chest. 

“I like ya too, Yuki. Tons. You’re my favorite too, yanno?”

_[I am?]_

“Yeah! You’re my favorite and my preference! I wanna hang out with ya all the time and learn more about ya and talk with ya as much as I can! It’s always a bummer when I gotta go to sleep because that means I gotta stop, but it just makes waking up much better because… You’re there.” The honest words flowed from his lips with little censor. Renzou felt the yearning in his chest again, akin to the one from minutes before. He wanted his feelings to touch Yuki. He wanted him to understand, even though there was a part of him that knew that Yuki probably wouldn’t ever fully get it. He was a computer, he reminded himself. No matter how special or how smart, Renzou had to remember that he was a computer.

Even then, Yuki’s response still made him happy, still made him smile, still made him yearn for that impossible physical touch.

_[Thank you, Ren. You are the best friend I could have ever asked for. Let us continue being friends for as long as we possibly can.]_


End file.
